Vitamin A stability in salt triple fortified with iodine, iron, and vitamin A.

BACKGROUND

Dietary micronutrient deficiencies, which lead to diseases such as iodine deficiency disorders, iron-deficiency anemia, and vitamin A deficiency, are serious public health problems in the developing world. Fortifying salt with iodine, iron, and vitamin A is an attractive approach to simultaneously reduce the deficiencies of these three micronutrients in the diet.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the technical feasibility of producing triple-fortified salt fortified with iodine, iron, and vitamin A that would be stable under the climatic conditions of developing countries (i.e., high temperature and high humidity).

METHODS

Triple-fortified salt was obtained by granulation and encapsulation of commercially produced vitamin A products, iodine, and iron compounds. Vitamin A retention was determined in the presence of five iron and two iodine compounds, in different combinations, under three different storage conditions. The influence of commercial stabilization techniques for the vitamin A palmitate source used (spray-dried or dissolved in oil), and the type of binder used for granulation on vitamin A retention in triple-fortified salt was studied. The influence of temperature, humidity, and chemical interactions on vitamin A stability in triple-fortified salt was also investigated.

RESULTS

The most stable formulation retained 77.73% of vitamin A after 2 months of storage at 40 degrees C, 60% relative humidity, and 95% under ambient conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the production of a stable triple-fortified salt is technically feasible.